Marriott Brilliant adds 50K points bonus as Choice Benefit

Big-spending Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders have access to an annual “Choice Benefit” after spending $60,000 or more within a calendar year. The options are similar, but not identical, to the choice benefits earned at various elite night thresholds.

As of earlier this week, those options have been updated, and cardholders can now choose a one-time bonus of 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy^® points as their Choice Benefit.

The Deal

• American Express and Marriott have updated the Choice Benefit options for Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders that spend $60K or more on the card within the calendar year.
• Available options now includes your choice of one of the following:
  • 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards
  • 1 Free Night Award valued at up to 85K points
  • 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
  • $1,000 off of a Bed from any Marriott Bonvoy retail brand

Terms and Conditions

• If, in any calendar year of Card Membership, your total eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card reach or exceed $60,000 (“Purchase Requirement”), you will be eligible to select one of the following benefits as part of the Brilliant Earned Choice Award:

• • Five Nightly Upgrade Awards (formerly Suite Night Awards™)
  • Save $1,000 on a bed from a Marriott Bonvoy^® retail brand (Note: This award option will no longer be available for Earned Choice Award selection for Card Members who meet the Purchase Requirement in calendar years that begin on or after January 1, 2026.)
  • Free Night Award with a redemption value up to 85K points
  • One-time deposit of 50K Marriott Bonvoy points
• The list of Brilliant Earned Annual Choice on choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant is subject to change at any time.
• Eligible purchases do not include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, purchases of gift cards, person-to-person payments, or purchases of other cash equivalents.
• This benefit is only available to the Basic Card Member on the Card Account and only one Brilliant Earned Choice Award may be earned each calendar year per Card Account.
• Purchases by both the Basic Card Member and any Additional Card Members on the Card Account are eligible toward the Purchase Requirement. To qualify for the Earned Choice Award, your Card account must be open and not in default at the time the Award is earned.

Quick Thoughts

I’d be interested to know the percentage of Brilliant cardholders who spend $60K on the card in a year. The card has some great benefits, including Marriott Platinum status, $300/year in dining credits (at $25/month), an annual 85K free night certificate and 25 elite-qualifying nights per year.

However, as far as a place to put your spend, it’s a dud, as the card earns 3x Marriott points on dining and 2x everywhere else. Based on our Reasonable Redemption Value for Bonvoy points of .76 cents each, that’s about like earning ~1.52% back on everyday spend. Not cool, bruh.

However, I’m sure there are some folks out there that do it, and for them, the 50K bonus is a nice option. While the 85K free night certificate opens the door to many more properties, it’s also only valid for a year, whereas the points live on and on. If you don’t think you can use the cert within the next 12 months or primarily stay at less expensive properties, having an additional 50,000 flexible points might be an appealing option.

All that said, if you can’t use a Marriott 85K cert within the next year, it might be time to rethink whether or not you should be spending $60K on the Brilliant card as well.

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